Growing Love
by FlowyWaterLily
Summary: A romance story between Katara and Zuko! My version of how the their relationship shouldve gone. Rated MA for lemon scenes later on, and mild language (nothing too extreme.) Zutara forever
1. The Kiss - Chapter1

The Kiss

It was nighttime and everyone was asleep. No sound at all and no one was up. Everyone was asleep, getting a good rest to prepare for any sudden attacks. Yet, Katara could not sleep, no matter how much she tossed and turned in her bed, she just could not manage to drift off. She had tried everything but her mind was just too full of thoughts. She thought that maybe a walk outside would help. She stepped outside her tent, but turned towards the woods. She always found it more peaceful to have late night walks in the woods. As the moon shone extra bright over there.

She entered the woods, and went further in as she didn't want Toph to sense her. She closed her eyes and relaxed, but she just couldn't. Too many thoughts were in her mind. Then all of a sudden, she heard noises. Her eyes shot open and she started to look around. She heard the noises getting closer and closer, she started to waterbend, getting ready for whatever was in store for her. Then out of the shadows came a tall, pale body, with raven colored hair.

"Zuko" Katara said wondering what he was doing here. "What are you doing here?" she said. She asked herself a dozen questions as to why he would be here, they weren't exactly good friends, after all last month she despised him for his betrayal. She remembered how hurt she was, remembering that she felt so shocked, just as she thought they were starting to get along he broke it to pieces. But that was in the past, she has forgiven him but she still didn't exactly trust him. And he knew it too.

"I couldn't sleep" Zuko responded. He had no idea what he couldn't sleep about, he really didn't have a reason. His mind was clear and he felt relaxed, but his body refused to let him get a good night's rest. "Oh, me either" Katara said. Although she didn't fully trust him, it felt good to have someone to talk to late at night, even if it was Zuko. She enjoyed his company.

They got silent quickly

Katara and Zuko felt awkward, they had said only a couple words to each other but the conversation had died quickly, it was nothing new to them. Their conversations did last longer, but that was only because the team was there also in the talk, but this was late at night, the team wasn't anywhere near them. They were alone together in the woods and they couldn't even keep a conversation going for a full 30 seconds.

"Um… I'm sorry" Katara said. Zuko looked at her weirdly, what was she sorry about? "For what?" He said looking confused. "For being so harsh on you, after you betrayed us." Katara said trying not to let any tears escape. She knew how rude she was to him, as if his life couldn't be any more bad on him, she managed to make it worse, she remembered how even after the team accepted Zuko's apology for his betrayal she was still so mean to him. She wondered how it must've felt. Azula, his own sister who was constantly a threat to him. And his father, who left a scar on him for trying to do what was best for the fire nation. To then have her be so impossible towards him.

"its okay, I deserved it anyways" Zuko said while looking at her

"No, you didn't." Katara said feeling even more sad, had she made him feel like he deserved pain?

"It really is, I'm used to it anyways."

Katara looked at him with sadness. _He is used to it_. She felt bad. She didn't want him to feel like that.

"So um, why couldn't you sleep?" she asked him.

"I don't know, why couldn't you sleep?" He questioned. Katara had over a million answers as to why she couldn't sleep, but she couldn't tell him. She still hadn't fully trusted him. Or liked him, there was still a possibility that he could betray them again. And she didn't want to get to close to him only to what that pain again.

"I guess there is just too much going on in my head." She said truthfully. There really was a lot going through her mind. Like Aang, how did she feel about Aang? Did she like him? Did she love him? Did he like her? Were they just friends? Did she want to be friends? In all truth she did just want to be friends, she only thought of Aang as a friend, even though he thought of her of more than a friend, she didn't have feelings for him in _that_ way.

"Like what?" Zuko said. Katara was anxious now, she couldn't just tell him that she didn't have feelings for Aang, Zuko was Aang's firebender teacher. And they were good friends, he could easily tell Aang of how Katara felt.

"Just stuff" Katara responded hoping that he wouldn't question her anymore on the subject.

"oh." Zuko said knowing well that whatever it was, she didn't want to talk about it. But his mind also crossed Aang, but for a different reason. What if aang had found them? Its not that anything was going on between them because nothing was, but it would be rather weird for Aang to spot them in the woods, as they were pretty far into the woods, and it was late at night, very late. Not to mention they were alone together.

Zuko stared at Katara, Katara was a very gorgeous woman. Hes noted it before but she looked even more beautiful under the moonlight. Katara caught him gazing at her and he quickly looked in the other direction. Giving her time to admire him also. He was so mysterious she thought, he had well toned muscles and he was the perfect definition of manly. No..! no! Katara thought to herself, she couldn't possibly be thinking of Zuko like this! All of a sudden their eyes caught each other, well aware that they were both staring, Zukos wonderful golden eyes burned straight into her soul. And her ocean like blue eyes shined brightly as the moonlight reflected off them. They started to move closer, and closer. But not breaking their gaze. All of a sudden Zuko grabbed her arm and kissed her very softly. Katara's eyes widened. She pulled away.

"No…we just can't do this Zuko" she said as she ran off.

Zuko felt pain, had he really just ruined their friendship by doing such a stupid move? Why did he even kiss her he thought angrily, he didn't even like her in that way. Just as soon as he had a chance of regaining her trust he had broken it again. His blood boiled as he got angry, he knew that what they had would always be just a friend thing, and it would always stay like that. He returned to his tent. Still not being able to sleep.

Katara kept walking, great. She told herself, just as she was beginning to feel like she could rest now she has another problem in her mind. Zuko, had kissed her. Now tons of more questions entered her mind. As she was about to enter her tent she heard something call her name.

"Katara?" said a voice.

She turned around to see Aang with a very tired expression on his face.

"what are you doing up this late?" Aang asked.

"oh.. I just went out for a walk…that's all" she said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Go to bed Katara, you need sleep" Aang responded.

"I will" But that was a lie, she couldn't sleep, not after what had happened.


	2. More and More - Chapter 2

More and more

It was finally morning, but Katara still was awake. She couldn't sleep after what happened last night. It was just too much. As for Zuko, who stayed wide awake all night, also not being able to sleep. Everyone had already gotten up and out of their tents, chatting together outside. But Katara remained in her tent, the memory of her a Zuko sharing a kiss still fresh in her memory. Zuko also remained in his tent, he wished it wasn't daytime, so that he would be able to stay inside his bed longer, so that he could continue to regret what he did. But he knew he would stay in as much as he needed, the team wouldn't bother to wake him up. Not after last time.

"Katara!" Aang said as he walked into Katara's tent

Katara didn't know if she should respond, she could just pretend to be asleep. She could play it off, maybe he would leave and give her just a little more time to sleep. She hoped that he would just realize that she was sleeping and he would just leave and come back later. Sadly, he went up to her shaking her yelling "KATARA WAKE UP" Katara sat up from her bed quickly

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" she yelled angry, she was furious that Aang would wake her up like that, screaming and shaking her, she was tired after staying up all night. But she just couldn't sleep. Aang looked at her in shook, "s-sorry Katara, I didn't mean to make you angry"

"GET OUT" she yelled even more angry. Aang quickly left and she laid back down on her bed. She knew that she couldn't stay in her tent all day, but however long she could was fine with her. As for Zuko, no one bothered to wake him up, its not that the team didn't care for him, because they were great friends with Zuko. But last time they woke up Zuko when he was angry it wasn't a pretty sight. And they cant loose anymore tents to a fire, so they decide to just let himself figure that out. But eventually he did come out.

Katara still refused to come out, it had been a hour later since she sent Aang out of her tent with screams. Toph walked in her tent

"Katara, you need to get up" Toph said in a calm voice. Katara appreciated her being subtle and not shaking her to wake up, unlike Aang.

"Why should I?" Katara said, wondering if Aang had told Toph about what had happened and that's why she was being extra careful with her.

"Because, the team is about to practice our bending, It would be nice if you were to join" Toph said trying her best so that she didn't get angry

"I don't want to, I feel sick" Katara tried to make it as believable as possible.

"Katara, I know you're lying, you can't sneak a lie past me, you know that" Toph said "Now what's really wrong?"

"I told you, I feel sick." Katara responded

"Lies" Toph said before Katara could even continue on her "illness"

"It's not lies. I have no idea what you are talking about." Katara said trying to convince her.

"Alright." Toph said, but she knew Katara was lying. And she wasn't planning on giving up.

Katara was surprised by her easy step down, surely she was just letting her off the hook, maybe tired of trying to pry the real reason out of her. But still, Toph was usually very determined to find out, and either way she was surprised that Toph had let her off so easily.

"So, how about you and Zuko?" Toph said with a smile on her face, knowing she had Katara trapped. She crossed her arms and waited for Katara's response.

Katara shot up off her bed "what?!" she said looking worried

"You know what I said, how goes your little secret thing with Zuko?" Toph said with an even bigger smile on her face knowing that she was putting pressure on Katara, and that she would reveal her secrets of last night sooner or later.

"You are _insane_ Toph" Katara responded defensively, knowing that Toph was only toying with her and that she probably knew nothing about last night.

"Oh you know, you, Zuko, the woods." Toph said almost ready to burst out in laughter as she knew Katara would spill her secrets eventually.

"What do you know, Toph!?" Katara said yelling but somehow keeping it quiet enough so that no one else besides her and Toph could hear.

"Oh…just the fact that you and zuko were alone together in the woods, does Aang know?" Toph said smiling the biggest she's ever smiled

Katara broke down at that moment. She just couldn't take all the pressure on her. Her tears started to fall down her cheeks. Toph looked at her, and grabbed something so that she can wipe off her tears.

"Katara, I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt this way about the subject" Toph said in a sincere voice, she truly was sorry, she thought that Katara just had a little secret, she didn't know it was this serious. Katara hugged her, "Thanks toph" with her tears starting to stop.

"So, are you coming out or not?" Toph said, "Because if you are, you might want to get into something more comfortable." she said as she walked out of Katara's tent.

Outside

"So?" Aang said looking at Toph

"Shes coming out soon" Toph said

"Good, I just don't understand why she was up so late at night" Aang said looking a bit worried.

Zuko suddenly choked on the water he was drinking as he was overhearing their conversation, Aang and Toph looked in his direction

"You ok Zuko? What's wrong?" Aang said as he looked at Zuko wondering what had happened.

"I'm uh, I'm fine. Nothing is wrong." Zuko said returning to his tent. Not knowing that Toph knew exactly, what was going on.

_ Nighttime

Once again, tossing and turning, Katara couldn't sleep. Still thinking of Zuko's kiss. One moment she was in her bed not being able to sleep, the next she was already outside walking towards the woods. She went to the exact same place she went last time. And sat down, so many things she was overthinking about, like why couldn't she stop thinking of Zuko? And why couldn't she just work up the nerve to tell toph what had happened. It's one thing to experience such a thing but not being able to talk about it. But the more she thought about it, she never really had anyone to share her secrets about, Aang couldn't know her secrets because…well.. she didn't know why, but he just wasn't the one to share things with. And Zuko, how much she wished she could be close friends with him. She would mind sharing things with him at all. And Toph was too young to know most of her secrets, she wouldn't understand. And Sokka was her brother, he would be furiously mad if he knew any of her secrets. She felt so lost, she just wanted someone to be by her, she just wanted to feel comforted in these moments.

For the second time today, she cried. But this time was worse than the last as more thoughts came into her mind. Her tears turned into full on crying and she didn't know what to do.

"Katara?" Said a familiar voice. She turned around to see a familiar face. A face she had hoped to see, a face she wanted to see.

"Zuko" she whispered as more tears came.


	3. To have you Here - Chapter 3

**To have you here**

"Are you ok?" Zuko asked as he watched the Waterbender shed millions of tears.

"Go away" Katara said while wiping away her tears, she hated when people saw her like this. She thought of it as a weakness, as if she couldn't control her emotions so she is showing that she isn't strong. She _hated_ to have to cry in front of other people, to have them witness how sensitive she actually is to her emotions, and now Zuko knows how weak she is.

Zuko sat down, not listening to her clear demands of her wanting him to leave.

"Are you deaf?" Katara asked frustrated. She was mad that Zuko not only didn't respect her choices, but even had the gut to sit down. As if that could be any better.

"No" Zuko responded.

"Then why aren't you leaving? Why aren't you gone yet?" Katara said looking at him with a death stare, but his golden eyes that looked into her deeply took away her anger. She quickly turned her eyes the other way trying to not fall for his stare that made her anger vanish. She's supposed to be mad with him, for one, he hadn't left him when she asked him nicely to. Secondly, he kissed her last night, without permission.

"Didn't you hear me? GO. AWAY" Katara yelled. She looked at Zuko with no expression. Showing him that she wasn't weak and didn't care for his feelings.

"Katara, if you don't want to talk about it then don't." Zuko said quietly, hoping that he wouldn't anger her more. But he was wrong because the next thing he knew Katara was yelling again.

"Who EVER said I was going to talk about my hundreds of problems? And definitely not with you!" Katara screamed as more tears started to form behind her eye. She pressed her hands on her eyes to press them further down, not allowing them to come out.

"Hundreds of problems?" Zuko questioned while looking her in the eye, only to realize that she looked away again. Every time he looked at her or made eye contact with her it wouldn't last 3 seconds as she would quickly turn away, as if avoiding something.

"W-what? I never said that." Katara stated.

"You literally just said seconds ago that you have hundreds of probl-" Zuko said before being interrupted by the angry waterbender.

"Well I must've just mistaken myself. I have no problems. None of which concern you anyways." Katara spat out, hoping that he would believe her and just leave her alone on the subject.

" And what if I am concerned?" Zuko said looking at her, but it wasn't long before she looked away again.

"Good. It should concern you." Katara said a bit angrily, how could he not know that her entire worry was of him? Because he had kissed her, because she didn't know if she wanted it or not, and it scares her. "No…No! I didn't like the kiss! It was unwanted and he didn't even have permission." Katara told herself.

"And why would it concern me?" Zuko asked a bit confused.

"Because I'm such a huge mess…. because of you." Katara admitted.

Zuko looked at her a bit confused, how had he made her a huge mess? What did he do? Then it hit him, the kiss. The kiss he had given her, it was because of that, because of that whats why she was such a mess. Out here in the woods crying like a maniac, he didn't know she would take such a huge effect from it, had she never kissed before? Surely he has seen Aang steal a couple kisses from her.

"How stupid of me" she said in a voice of self-hatred.

"How so?" The firebender asked, curious as to why she had gone from crying, to insulting herself.

"How stupid of me to think you've changed" Katara whispered. Zuko felt a pain in his chest. He didn't mean for what he did to have ruined her so much, he didn't even know why he had kissed her. He didn't even like her. He wished things can go back to the old friendship they had. But it seems that it probably won't ever be fixed. And she will probably never forgive him.

"How stupid of me to think that after you did that to me the other night, that you would say sorry." Katara said with angrily. "How stupid of me to think that after I admitted that I was a mess because of you, that you would at least apologize." Katara said even more angry. "How stupid of me, how stupid…." She said as she held her head low, the kiss itself didn't have an effect on her, but the fact that it made her start caring about him again. Like she did before his betrayal, what if he did it again. She would feel horrible just like she felt last time. All because she cares about him now. She continued to avoiding any form of eye contact or communication with Zuko.

Zuko looked at her, even if he knew she wouldn't look back, he still would continue to glare. Feeling sorry, but emotions weren't usually Zuko's specialty, he always had trouble expressing himself. Except when it came to anger, but sadness, sorrow, forgiveness, guilt. He had always never shown those emotions easily. Unless he was truly sorry.

"I'm sorry, Katara" Zuko finally said.

Katara looked up at him, making eye contact. Although this time she didn't break the contact shared between the two. He had said it. He had said what she had been waiting for, an apology from no other than Zuko.

"Don't be, I already had enough problems, I don't think theres nothing you can do to make it worse." Katara said.

"Really? Because it seemed like you had big problems…over us and the kiss." Zuko said a bit quietly.

"N-no… not really… It's just that I had so many thoughts on my mind... and I guess I told you those thoughts in a form of hatred." Katara said with a sigh. She did indeed want to tell someone her problems, having so many things with her and not being able to tell a single soul. Except herself of course. She told him some of her thoughts in a rude way, so he didn't think that she had trusted him.

"Why?" Zuko asked.

"Why what..?" Katara questioned.

"Why in a form of hatred?" Zuko said. "Why not just telling me the issues?"

Katara froze, did she really want to tell him the reason? Because she still hadn't trusted him? Because she was afraid?

"Because…I…I guess I'm afraid." Katara said shamefully and weakly.

"Of what?" Zuko said confused.

"I'm afraid. I can't trust you, I don't want to. I just _can't_ bring myself to grow close to you… not again." Katara said, as tears started to form again. This time, she didn't even bother to try and stop them, if she cried then she cried.

"Why? The whole team has trusted me again. Why can't you?" Zuko said a bit saddened at what she said about him.

"The whole team trusts you. Because they aren't as betrayed as I am. I was the first to trust you Zuko, even when Sokka warned me about you. I didn't care, I accepted you. And how did you repay me?" she said looking at him, wanting him to know how much pain he caused her that day.

Zuko looked away, he knew what she was going to say next.

"By betraying me. I was so hurt Zuko. I told myself that I would _never_ allow myself to trust you like that, to be close to you like that. Because the pain is just too much. I never want to go through that again" She said with a tear trailing down her cheek.

Zuko pulled her close to him and hugged her. "I would rather die than betray you, or the team again. I would never live with myself if I hurt you like that again. I'm sorry." Zuko said as he felt the waterbender return the hug. He loved this feeling, the feeling of having Katara this close to him. One step closer to gaining her trust.

"Zuko" she said, loving how he embraced her. She never wanted this moment to end.

"Yes?" he asked while breaking the hug and staring into her eyes.

"I'm glad to have you here." She said as she hugged him again and he hugged back.

Although she wanted this moment to last, she knew their relationship wouldn't be anything romantic, and they would probably never hug again. But she was fine with that, she wasn't supposed to like him romantically anyways.

_ Camp

They both headed back to their own tents, but another surprised waited for Katara.

"You two have fun?" Said an angry voice.


	4. Secrets - Chapter 4

**Secrets**

Katara swiftly turned her head around to the angry voice speaking to her.

"Aang.." Katara said quietly. Praying to spirits that Aang didn't know of what happened, or, more worse, if he saw the hug her and Zuko shared.

"Care to explain to me what you're doing?" Aang said in an annoyed voice.

"W-what a-are you talking a-about?" Katara said while stuttering numerous times. Her anxiety was building up like crazy.

"Don't play stupid Katara! I saw you sneak out to the forest with Zuko, _alone,_ " Aang said clearly sounding angry and frustrated. How long had she been doing this? What did they do? Were they in a secret relationship?

Katara stayed quiet, thinking of something to say to get these thoughts out of his mind, but there wasn't much to do to clear what he had saw. The question is, w _hat_ did he see? If he had just seen them talking, she could probably talk her way around it, but if he saw them hug each other, then break apart only to have her hug him again…now that could be impossible.

"You're out there with Zuko in the woods doing gods knows what!" Aang said in a slightly more angry voice.

"What?" Katara questioned but also having frustration in her voice. Gods knows what? Did he suspect that her and Zuko were doing _more_ than just talking? Having sexual relantions?

"You heard me!" Aang said even louder, but still not loud enough to wake everyone up. Although it was loud enough for Zuko to hear. He thought to himself who was having an argument this late at night, probably Sokka and Suki. But he was wrong, as he heard more of the argument he recognized a voice, of a certain waterbender. She was arguing with Aang, but of what?

"Yes I indeed heard you! But I can't believe you would accuse me of such thing!" Katara yelled out, she couldn't believe it, Aang accused her after seeing her and Zuko just talking.

"Really? You can't believe? What else do you expect when you sneak out late at night, in the woods with another guy!" Aang yelled loudly, Waking up Toph who had stepped out of her tent to see what the fuss was about.

"Dosen't mean I am having sexual relations!" Katara yelled more angry than ever.

Zuko suddenly knew, Aang had caught them talking to each other in the woods and had suspected that they were doing…more than just a regular conversation.

"oh yea sure! You probably snuck out yesterday too! How long has this gone on for?" Aang said.

"Its not what it seems!" Katara said inching closer to him, as if ready to kill him.

Toph then interrupted the two, "STOP IT!" yelled toph,

"You guys are waking everyone up! Why can't you settle this in the morning!" Said toph as she walked over to her tent.

Katara walked in her tent to lay on her bed. The problems have only worsened, 5 minutes ago she felt ok and safe, as if her problems had been solved. But another one came along. What would she say to Aang?

_ Morning

Katara woke up to see Aang sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"S-sorry to interrupt you.. I just wanted to say I'm sorry.." Aang whispered.

"It's fine Aang." Katara responded

"Tell me, tell me that nothing happened to you guys, tell me that you two aren't more than friends." Aang said.

Curses, he had questioned her about the subject again, would she lie? She hated to lie to people she cared about, especially Aang, she cares about him a lot. As a friend, but she couldn't tell him about the hug her and Zuko shared.

"Nothing happened, we both took a walk and happened to run into each other, we talked for about 10 seconds before we returned back." Katara said trying not to stutter or sound afraid.

Aang sighed, "I knew it. I knew you and Zuko would never be a thing. After all its pretty obvious that you hate him." Aang said with laughter.

"Yea.." Katara said, _obvious that you hate him._ She didn't hate him. But did people think so? She just wasn't friends with him, until know. But that didn't mean she hated him.

"Hey Katara…. Are you becoming friends with Zuko?" Aang said. But he already knew the answer, of course she would say no. No way in a million years would she think of being friends with Zuko, he thought.

"Oh…" she said trying to form an answer. Did they classify as friends? They had hugged, and they had snuck away at night for the past two days to talk to each other. So were they friends? Or were they acquaintances?

"I guess so.. yea" Katara said very quietly. Oh gods, what was Aang going to say? How would he react?

"That's good, its good to be friends with teammates." Aang said while smiling, and he walked out of her tent.

Katara sighed in relief. Finally, the questions were over and she could relax.

_ Nighttime

It was very late again, Katara put on her sandals. She was already about to exit her tent to go talk to Zuko again. When she stopped to look around to make sure no one could see her. But she caught glimpse of someone else, Zuko. Who was also sneaking out of his tents, and she knew where he was going. He caught glimpse of her, and they stared at each other, Katara flashed a smile at him as she sneaked off to the woods. To her surprise, he was already there.

"Hey" Katara said, excited of the conversation her and Zuko would have this time.


	5. Problem Spilling - Chapter 5

**Problem Spilling**

Katara sat down, and so did Zuko. She wondered if It would be a regular thing now, the two of them, sneaking of to the woods at night.

"Katara, about last night" Zuko said with a look of worry.

Katara looked at him in confusion, was he talking about the hug? Some of the issues she had said?

"What about it…?" Katara said.

"What did Aang know?" Zuko asked. A feeling of relief swept over Katara's body, he was only wondering about Aang.

"Oh… he um found out about us in the woods last night." Katara said.  
"He also… accused me of having sexual relations with you…." Katara said trying not to be embarrassed.

Zuko shot a look at her, then looked away. Him? Having that with Katara? Aang was certainly one to jump to conclusions.

Katara sighed, remembering how angry Aang had got at her, but to think about it he was probably just jealous. Or maybe he felt heartbroken.  
"He got very angry at me." She said with sadness.

"Very angry?" Zuko said.

"Yes… he was yelling at me, accusing me of all things." Katara said as her voice started to break. " _I'm so weak to my emotions, am I about to cry again? How pathetic of me.._ " Katara thought to herself.

Zuko felt angry, he was normally one to lose his anger but, this was different. He was angry because Aang had been rude to Katara. Since when did he care about Katara's feelings? Since when did he become soft-hearted?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Zuko asked as he glanced over in Katara's direction.

"P-promise you won't betray me again?" Katara said as she stared into his eyes.

"Promise." Zuko said.

Katara sighed a looked down,

"It's… just Aang, I feel so pressured around him. Everyone knows that he is in love with me, and everyone just assumes that I feel the same way. I feel like everyone just expects me to like him, and if I don't I disappoint people." Katara said while trying to fight back tears.

"You don't disappoint people Katara" Zuko said trying to comfort her.

"But I feel like I do, and my friends just make it worse. Toph who is always making fun of me for apparently keeping my relationship with Aang a secret. And Sokka, Sokka has told me so many times that I should stop looking for potential husbands in the future, because I am meant to be with Aang." Katara said as one tear started to fall down.

"I just feel like I am not meant to be with Aang, he is two years younger than me… and he isn't supposed to have love interests, he is the avatar. Love will distract him, he needs to focus on keeping the elements in balance, like he is supposed to do." Katara said.

"But even then, Aang himself can make things worse for me, yes I care for him but that's only as a friend, I have dropped so many hints that I don't like him in that way but maybe he dosent understand them. He will kiss me every now and then and I pull away, but he continues to do it." Katara said.

"I think you are putting to much pressure on yourself" Zuko whispered  
"Stop blaming yourself, it's not your fault if you don't like back someone. It happens, but you will have to tell Aang about your feelings someday, you cant lead him on like that." Zuko said as he looked at the waterbender who seemed as if she would start crying any moment now.

"Exactly.. I cant bring myself to tell Aang that I don't like him.. who knows what will happen. What if he goes into avatar state? What if Sokka leaves me?" Katara said,

"Sokka is your brother, he wouldn't do that." Zuko said.

Katara inched closer to Zuko, she looked at him and he looked at her, their eyes stared at each for what seemed days. Zuko inched closer to Katara, they were just inches away. Katara wanted to hug him again, to feel his arms around hers. But she knew it was wrong, she knew she couldn't.

"Zuko.. we cant keep doing this" Katara said.  
"We cant keep meeting up at night in the woods. We just can't" she said.

Zuko felt anger, why did every time he thought they were getting close she rejected him? What did he do? Last time she hugged him back, so why is this any different?

"Why do you hold me back every time we start to grow close?" Zuko said angrily,  
"Why do you lead me to believe that we are starting to become friends and then you push me away?" Zuko said.

"Last time I checked friends don't kiss each other." Katara said back.

"I thought we were passed that whole thing." Zuko said.

"Zuko, I just cant. I cant do this, it will hurt Aang" Katara said a bit more angry.

"pft, women are so confusing" Zuko said with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"Excuse me?" Katara said in a defensive way.

"Women. Are. Confusing." Zuko said slowly.

"How so?" Katara said sounding more angry.

"Moments ago you said you didn't like Aang in that way, and now you are refusing to just talk in the woods because it might hurt him." Zuko said.

"And you, just like other men, you never understand. You are no different from others." Katara yelled as she started to move closer to him, as if challenging him.

"Oh here we go, with your pathetic attempts at trying to guilt trip me" Zuko said, also moving closer to Katara staring in her eyes and never breaking contact. They acted like while beasts, first one to look away is the weak one. The one who stays staring is the dominant one. Common rule for animals.

"You don't understand Zuko, I wouldn't expect you to, you don't understand Aangs feelings." Katara yelled, still moving closer and closer.

"It's always about Aangs feelings! What about mine?!" Zuko yelled out.

Katara stayed silent, what did he mean his feelings? Did he have feelings for her? No… no he didn't. he probably didn't mean it like that.

They were face to face, they were able to feel each others breath on each other. They still stayed in their stare, not breaking apart. They got closer, their lips were almost touching, all of a sudden Katara lightly brushed her lips against his, and then pulled back to being face to face. She waited for his response, maybe he would just end it here. Shes so stupid to think that Zuko would like her back, why did she even do that anyways? Either way she prayed to the gods that he wouldn't reject her.

Zuko couldn't believe was had happened. She had made the first move this time, they went from yelling at each other to this. He didn't mind… he had considered that maybe he had taken a liking to Katara, no, he _definitely_ had taken a liking to her and he knew it, he just pushed it down to not think about it. But now she had shown interest.

Without hesitating Zuko put his lips against hers. Loving the way how sweet her lips tasted, he waited for her to change her mind, to pull back. But she didn't, instead she put her arms around his shoulders and deepened the kiss. They continued to kiss, every minute that past their kiss became more needy, but they didn't mind. They wanted this moment to last forever.

And it did last for quite a while.


	6. Jealousy - Chapter 6

**Jealousy**

It was morning, the image of her and Zuko making out for about an hour in the woods replayed over and over in her mind, all morning since she woke up she couldn't stop thinking about it, she couldn't stop smiling. And every time the memory came in her mind she blushed. She couldn't wait to meet up with him again.

She went outside her tent to see everyone awake. Out of Toph, Aang, Sokka, and Suki, her eyes found Zuko. Both of their eyes did, they both stared at each other for about 10 seconds before Aang came up to Katara.

"Hey Katara!" Aang said in a happy voice.

"Oh hey Aang" She smiled.

"So um.. I was thinking that maybe you and me could do something tonight, you know just the two of us?" Aang questioned while blushing.  
"Maybe we could just go on a walk or something… far from here" Aang said.

"Ohhh Aang and Katara sitting in a tree!" Toph said as she continued her sentence.

Zuko, who was overhearing everything became very angry. But it was a different form of angriness, he felt… jealous of Aang. Had he gotten jealous of Aang? More importantly the fact that he wanted to make plans with her tonight? That would mean she couldn't meet up with him tonight.

"Shut up Toph!" Katara said.

The earthbender immediately stopped talking and continued to practice her bending,

"So is that a yes or a no?" Aang said.

"Oh… sorry Aang but I have important plans tonight." Katara said.

Zuko felt himself calm down. _Important plans_. She had rejected Aang's date request so that she could meet up with him in the nighttime.

"Oh… well, what kind of stuff?" Aang said,

Katara cursed herself, _Damn._ Katara thought to herself, she should really start planning possible answers to possible questions.

"Oh… well tonight is a full moon, perfect for practicing waterbending." Katara said with a knot in her stomach. She was lying to him, to Aang. Lying to him, again.

"Right, I forgot. Maybe tomorrow!" Aang said cheerfully, as he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Katara's eyes widened all the way, Aang had kissed her again. Should she get mad at him? Should she just play it off? If she got mad at him everyone would start to suspect things, Aang would think about her and Zuko again. Sokka would get mad at her, and Aang would get sad.

She allowed Aang to kiss her, only because the entire team was watching, and besides it was only a cheek kiss, its not like it was on the lips. Aang started to walk away and Katara's eyes caught to Zuko, he looked back at her and glanced away.

He was so angry, why did she let him? She had told him that she pulls back so why was this time different? She didn't even react as if she didn't like it. I guess what they had was nothing. He was boiling with heat as his jealousy grew even more. He could set everything on fire if he wanted to, but he held it in and Went inside his tent.

Katara would want to apologize to Zuko, but she can't just walk inside his tent. Not in plain sight, everyone is out, they would suspect things. She will have to wait till nighttime to clear things up.

Nighttime

It was late night, Katara was already up and about to head to the woods when she didn't see Zuko. Usually the two get out of their tents to head to the woods at the same time so it was odd that she didn't see him. Maybe she should go check on him, but what if someone saw? To explain a reason as to why she would be in his tent at this time would be unimaginable. But its just to check, she wont stay long. She secretly snuck her way over to Zukos tent and whispered his name from the outside… no response. She slightly peeked inside to see him wide awake, sitting on his bed.

"Are you coming to the woods?" Katara said as she fully entered his tent.

He didn't nothing but give her a cold stare.

"Zuko… is something wrong?" she asked.

"Why did you let him?" Zuko said angrily. So furious that she would lead him on like that.

Katara knew what he was talking about now, he was jealous over the kiss Aang had given her on the cheek, probably more jealous that she didn't pull back.

"Well… everyone was outside and… if I pulled back everyone would get suspicious." Katara whispered.

"So? Who cares if they know!" Zuko said loudly.

"Zuko I'm sorry… I really did want to pull back but everyone would just suspect too much, I would embarrass him in front of everyone." Katara said.

Zuko turned away, and felt anger start to boil up inside him. Why did she always have to care about Aang so much? Maybe her and Aang really were more than friends. She always denied it but maybe she did love Aang, maybe she just denied it because he was 2 years younger than her. She did know him longer after all, and Aang didn't betray her. She had his full trust and he had hers. They were a better match.

Katara knew what he was thinking, she knew that maybe he would be thinking of how maybe theres a possibility that she likes Aang more than a friend. But she didn't, she didn't like Aang in anyway except friend. She walked closer to him and he just moved away. He was so jealous, it was kind of amusing to watch.

"Zuko, are you… jealous?" She said with a smile on her face.

"Shut up." Zuko said sternly.

"What if I let Aang kiss me again?" she said with a grin.

"Why don't you go away? Just return to your tent and interrupt someone else." Zuko said.

Katara stood in front of him and made eye contact.  
"I wouldn't let him kiss me again" Katara whispered softly.

Zuko looked up at her,  
"Whatever." He said coldly.

"Zuko! I mean it." She said back.

Zuko remained quiet, looking at her.

"Admit that you got jealous." Katara said smiling as she started to get closer to him.

"Yes Katara. I did, because I only want you to myself." Zuko said in an overprotective voice.

How she loved it when he got jealous, it made him 10x hotter. And also showed that he did in fact care for her.

Katara sat down next to him and hugged him.

"I only want you too." She said softly.

He pulled her out of the hug and kissed her, his eyes locking onto hers. Like fire and water, his golden eyes and her ocean blue eyes. She wrapped her arms around him, and his arms went around her waist. He pushed her against the wall without breaking their kiss. He deepened their kiss, and quickly they became more desperate for each other. Her hands were under his shirt, feeling his chest, back and muscles.

She wanted to continue, but she knew she couldn't. It would only be a matter of time before Toph could sense them, their hearts beating fast in Zukos tent. No doubt that she would tell everyone.

"Zuko we must stop" Katara whispered as she broke apart their kiss.

"Why? Because of Aang?" Zuko said getting mad again.

"No" She smiled,  
"Because of Toph"

"Oh, right." Zuko said. He kissed her on the forehead and watched as she left. He plopped back down on his bed while breathing heavily. Katara was right, even if Toph couldn't sense them, she was right. They couldn't continue what they were doing, the more they got into it the more they felt the need. The more they wanted to go, who knows if they would've stopped.

Katara snuck back into her tent and sat on her bed. She would've never imagined to be doing this with Zuko. It wasn't anything really, she did like him but only a little. And what they do is just out of lust, she can end it anytime and she's sure he knows too. He's the Prince of the Fire Nation, soon to be Fire Lord. There is no way they could've lasted.


	7. Preparing - Chapter 7

**She knows**

It was morning again, Katara woke up to Toph staring at her with a devious grin.

"Have a good time?" Toph said while grinning madly.

"What do you know Toph?" Katara said slightly annoyed.

"Oh… only that… YOU LOVE ZUKO!" Toph yelled. Soon after she was tackled by Katara.

"YELL LOUDER TOPH I DON'T THINK EVERYONE HEARD YOU!" Katara screamed while pinning Toph to the ground and holding her mouth shut.

Toph set herself free from Katara's hand "No, but I think you were loud enough." She said laughing.

"And you are wrong, I don't love Prince Zuko." Katara said.

"Maybe not, but you like him." Toph said.

Katara stayed quiet, she did like him. But she never told anyone, because it wasn't a big deal. He would eventually drift apart from the team, he would soon leave, he is a Prince of a Fire Nation. And once Aang defeats Ozai, Zuko will be needed in the Fire Nation as the new Fire Lord.

"So I am right?" Toph said laughing.

"No." Katara said very seriously.

"Katara, I'm not stupid. I know you love him." Toph said, not only did she see them sneak out to the woods every know and then, but they acted differently around each other and she noticed how Zuko got mad at Aang's kiss. And how Katara tried not to react weirdly when Aang had kissed her.

"I do not!" Katara yelled very angry.

"Katara, he loves you too." Toph said looking her in the eye, she could see Katara in relief, she knew that Katara liked hearing those words, Katara looked and felt happy by that statement. But still, Toph had no proof.

"That is the biggest lie I have ever heard." Katara said without trying to blush, in a way she was hoping that Toph wasn't lying. She was hoping that she had facts as to how she knew that Zuko had feelings for her. She wanted to hear that she was 100% sure of it, she didn't want to hear any "if" or "maybe", she wanted to hear that she was completely certain.

"Katara you know it too" Toph said while sitting down in the chair next to Katara's bed.  
"If anyone you should know Katara, you guys kiss a lot right?"

"Even if we did do that, still dosen't mean he loves me." Katara said still wishing that any moment know Toph would tell her a good reason.

"Katara Katara Katara. It is so obvious. Both of you guys get super talkative around each other, when you have never used too. The fact that Zuko got really mad and jealous when Aang kissed you, or maybe how you pretended to be ok with Aang kissing you on the cheek but really you felt uncomfortable." Toph said.

Katara stayed quiet, she never really noticed that. She knew that Zuko got irritated when Aang kissed her, and she knew that Zuko had started to get over protective. She also knew how Aang doing anything romantic with her like kissing, holding hands, or even if he had blushed when he was with her had made her uncomfortable. But when doing so with Zuko it was perfectly fine. She had noticed all of this but never took it this seriously, could it be possible that she loved him? And he felt the same way?

"Miles away Katara, I saw it coming miles away." Toph said while laughing.  
"So, are you going to be with him?"

"Don't be silly Toph, that would never work." Katara said as she got a bit sad, she wanted to be with Zuko, but there was just too many things stopping them.

"But you two love each other, yes?" Toph questioned, she was so frustrated as to how long Katara rejected this, it was crystal clear how much the two wanted each other, even though the rest of the team didn't notice at all.

"If we do or not, he has things in his life and I have mine." She said.

"What? Like him being the FireLord?" Toph said quietly.

Katara looked at toph, amazed as to how clueless she was. "Yes Toph, he has a place to be. And that place is in the firenation as the FireLord. Once Aang defeats Ozai he will leave, it wouldn't last."

"Love would at least try." Toph spat out, she could cause an earthquake right now from the pure anger Katara was giving her.

"Then I guess it isn't love." Katara said

"FINE!" Toph yelled out,  
"I have had ENOUGH of you Katara! You DO love him, and I know exactly why! You trust him more, you don't trust others like you trust him. You are afraid of loosing him, but you are also afraid of loving him, Because you still cant get over the fact that he betrayed you, you cant stand loving him because you believe that there is a shred of him that will turn evil. You cant bear the day he turns his back on you while you love him because it will hurt you far worse than last time." Toph said very aggressively.

She stepped closer to Katara,  
"But you know what? It dosent matter. It dosent matter if he betrays you while you love him, because no matter how much you deny it, you only lie to yourself about not loving him because you already love him. You can't let the thought in, you refuse to give in. But it's too late Katara, you love him and he loves you, so the only thing you are holding back on here is yourself." Toph said as she struggled to breathe from all the words she had said. Yet she wasn't finished.

"So whats the point? To string him on? It wouldn't hurt to try Katara." Toph said as she turned around and walked towards the exit of the tent, but before she walked out she turned her head a bit, "I know you will make the right choice, Katara." Toph said.

Katara just sat there on her bed, trying to understand everything she was feeling right now. There was far too many things she was feeling. But one thing was sure, Toph was right. She did love Zuko. She loved him so much, she would do anything to continue seeing him every night.

She didn't know what to do, so like any woman she seeked the help of her other friend, Suki.

Katara made her way to Suki's tent and called out her name from the outside. Soon Suki came to the entrance and Welcomed Katara in.

"What's the matter Katara?" Suki said as she poured water in a cup for Katara.

"I need advice." Katara said, but she didn't know where to start. She couldn't just randomly say that she needed advice on how to tell a guy that she loved him. But that's the advice she needed so what else could she ask for?

"On what?" Suki questioned.

"Well… on guys." Katara said trying not to be embarrassed, she never saw the day that she would ask for guy advice.

"Is that about Aang?" Suki said, wondering if Katara needed help on how to tell Aang she had feelings for him.

"No…" Katara said, she felt guilt about admitting that she had no feelings towards Aang in a romance way but Zuko was right, you cant feel bad for not liking someone back.

"Katara, there is no need to hide your feelings for Aang. It's ok, almost everyone knows anyways." Suki said.

"it's not like that! It's about someone else…" Katara whispered.

Suki smiled while having a surprised expression as she lifted up both her eyebrows.  
"And who might this man be?" Suki said waiting for the answer.

"I can't say" Katara said, Suki was Sokka's girlfriend. And Suki does tell Sokka almost everything, she couldn't risk telling Suki about her feelings towards Zuko only to have her tell Sokka. That would be a wreck.

Suki sighed, she accepted her decision, but that doesn't mean she can't be curious.

"So, what's the advice on?" Suki said.

"Well… how did you tell Sokka you had feelings for him?" Katara said hoping that maybe she could learn something from that.

Suki chuckled, "Oh so that's what this is about. You are having trouble telling someone your feelings?"

Katara shrugged, why must she ask so many questions? This conversation had already lasted longer than planned. She wanted to just walk in Suki's tent, ask her a question or 2 and then Suki would happily answer them without hesitation and then she would be on her way.

"No… well yes." Katara said.

Suki gave her a confused look, "So is that a yes or a no?"

Katara didn't know if it was a yes or a no. There was both, she had kissed Zuko a lot, and they had hugged, as well as sneak to the woods together at night. But no because they had never actually admitted into liking each other, and they haven't said I love you to one another. They both probably thought that it was just a lust thing, she never imagined it to be more than that. She never imagined to be in Suki's tent asking advice on out to tell Zuko she loved him.

"Both." Katara said.

"Both…? Explain." Suki said

Katara let out a sign, she wasn't going to explain, she cant just tell Suki, her brothers girlfriend that she fell in love with Zuko. Who also happens to be hated by her brother. This entire thing has gone to a mess, she should've just asked Toph for advice, after all Toph already knows about her and Zuko.

"I can't" Katara said uneasily.

"Why not?" Suki asked

Katara paused for a moment, regretting every second she had lasted in here. "Just… stop asking questions, please." She said  
"Just tell me how you told Sokka that you liked him." Katara said.

Suki laughed, "Actually, Sokka told me. It's usually the guys who confess first."

"Oh." Katara said back. _Usually the guys who confess first_. So why hadn't Zuko confessed to her? Toph said he loved her.

"But sometimes guys can feel just as uneasy about this too. You just have to assure them that you like them." Suki said.

"How?" Katara said. Assure them? She had kissed him first one time, how much more evidence did he need?

"I don't know, what would assure you that someone liked you?"

Katara didn't know, she would be assured if someone kissed her… but her and Zuko had kissed plenty of times. So what else?

"A kiss" Katara said

"Exactly." Suki said as she smiled.

Katara smiled back and shrugged a bit as she walked outside of the tent. She had learned _nothing_ from that. Half an hour of avoiding questions from Suki and in the end, she probably learned more from Katara than Katara learned about the situation. She guessed it's up to her to try and figure it out herself.

Nighttime

Katara walked out of her tent and looked over to Zukos, she was an hour early. He hadn't come out of his tent yet, and she decided to go to his tent instead of the woods. She made her way to the tent trying to be as quiet as possible, luckily their tents were close enough  
She walked inside and he was meditating.

"Katara?" Zuko said, what she was doing here? It was earlier than their usual time, but he wasn't complaining.

"I need to tell you something…" Katara said as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to say.


	8. Love - Chapter 8

Hi guys! Are you liking it so far? Please leave suggestions in the reviews, don't hold back, give me your honest opinions. Lemon scene probably in the next chapter.

 **Love**

"What is it?" Zuko said as he stood up and moved closer to Katara. He could sense her uneasiness.

Her face grew red and her mind searched for words to say, she wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came to mind. Her heart was pounding like crazy, trying to remember Toph saying that her loved her back, trying to feel like there was nothing to be afraid of. But even though Toph had hinted that rejection wasn't to be feared, she was still scared that maybe she had taken all of this too much. Zuko may or may not like her back… she tried to shake the thoughts out of her mind, tried to remember theres nothing to be scared of. She inhaled and exhaled slowly and she moved closer to Zuko.

"Zuko… I-" She was about to say it, but he then put his lips against hers. She instantly gave in, feeling comfort and all her stress went away. She pulled away but still stayed close to him,  
"Zuko I need to tell you something" she said as she looked into his golden eyes.

"Shh" he said as he planted his lips on hers again, he was making it very difficult for her to confess her feelings for him, rather impossible actually. She pulled back again,  
"Zuko wait.. I need to say… that I…" Damn. She told herself, no matter how hard she tried the words wouldn't come out, even though Toph had told her many reasons as to why rejection would not even be an option she still felt insecure about it, anyone would have.

Zuko stared at her, waiting for her to say whatever she needed to say. But he also had something to tell her, and that couldn't wait. Besides whatever she was going to say wasn't going to come out sooner or later.

"Katara." Zuko said as used his hands to lift her head to meet his face.  
"I love you" He said as he hugged her. Her hands melted at the hold of him, she felt so weak all of a sudden. He made her feel so good, like there was nothing wrong with the world.

"I love you too" Katara said as she pulled away from the hug and kissed him.

"You do?" Zuko said.

"I just said it didn't I?" Katara said as she stepped closer to him.

The moment got silent, they both stared at each other. Thinking of what to do, Katara who was wondering what would happen now, if they would classify as boyfriend and girlfriend. And Zuko had a million of thoughts he could do right now, but they weren't innocent. Katara caught his lustful stare and moved closer to him, not breaking eye contact. He put his hand against her cheek and stroked it softly. She leaned against him and kissed him ever so softly, but became more needy in a matter of seconds.

She wrapped her arms around his back and his around her waist. They kissed for what seemed forever, and afterwards they just sat down to have a talk.

"Will you tell Aang?" Zuko said quietly since they weren't in the woods.

"Yes…" Katara said, "You were right, I can't keep leading him on, I will tell him in the morning."

Zuko made a faint smile, "Good."  
"Will you tell anyone about us?" he said.

Katara laughed a bit, "Well… Toph kind of knows already"

"You told Toph?!" Zuko said a bit surprised.

"No… she already knew." Katara said.

Zuko shot a look at Katara, how did Toph know? Had she seen them sneaking off to the woods? Had she heard the conversations where Katara told Zuko she didn't like Aang? Oh gods, had she seen the hug? Or even worse… the kisses? Or maybe she just sensed it. You cant sneak a lie past Toph afterall.

"How did she know?" He asked.

"Apparently she saw it coming miles away" Katara said as she smiled.

Zuko quietly did a small laugh "Of course she did. She's Toph"  
"So will you tell anyone?"

She sighed, "No… It's not that I'm ashamed of being with you, I just want to keep us hidden from the others, for now." She really did want to tell people, like Suki and Toph about their official relationship but it would be too weird. She can't just tell Aang that she really doesn't have feelings for him then right after tell everyone she and Zuko love each other. It would be far too suspicious.

"Oh" Zuko said. He wasn't all sad, he was ok with keeping their relationship on the low for a couple weeks. He didn't mind at all, besides it gave them more time together.

Katara smiled and put her hand over Zuko's hand. "I promise that I will tell people about us, when the time is right." She said as she looked up and smiled at him.

Zuko nodded at her and squeezed her hand.  
"You might want to get out of here, its turning morning" he said. He watched as Katara's eyes opened fully and she quickly ran to the exit of the tent to peek outside.

"It really is turning morning" She said surprisingly.  
"I guess I must go now" She said as she shrugged sadly, she hugged him and said goodbye before quickly rushing out of his tent and heading towards hers. She la9d on her bed and smiled madly to herself, she had finally told Zuko that she loved him, and he told her. They had gotten so closer over the past week. As she leaned back on her bed, the memory of their night reoccurred over and over in her head. The confession, the kissing, the talking. It all went so perfect. And for the first time in about a month, she got a good nights rest.

 **Morning**

Katara woke up and got out of bed instantly, getting changed and brushing her hair. Love can do all sorts of things to you. Feeling more alive may is certainly something it does. Katara went outside, her eyes ready to scan the area for Zuko, but she already saw him. She made her way to him and sat next to him.

"Hey you" she said as she nudged him a bit.

He smiled at her, "Have a good sleep?" He asked. He too had a good sleep. The thought of Katara loving him back made him feel comforted. And he was able to fall asleep fast.

"Best sleep in weeks" She said, while her eyes locked on his.

All of a sudden Sokka came up to Katara, "Katara I need to speak to you, know." He said.

Katara looked at Sokka, feeling irritated by him. "Sokka I was having a conversa-" she began to say before being cut off by her clearly angry brother.

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE? I SAID NOW SO WE ARE TO SPEAK NOW!" Sokka yelled as he grabbed Katara's hand as she started to walk her towards his tent. Katara looked back at Zuko, he seemed to look very angry. But not at her, at Sokka for being so rude to Katara. It was not his place to argue or even fight with Sokka, but by the gods if Sokka was in no way related to Katara right now he would be burnt to a crisp.

Sokka opened his tent and sat her down on a chair. "Care to explain to me what the hell is wrong with you?" He said very aggressively. Katara stayed quiet, looking at him with frustration.  
"I asked you a damn question! The hell is your problem?!" He asked once again, his patience clearly running low.

"I don't know what you are talking about Sokka." Katara said back.

"Don't play your stupid games Katara, Suki innocently told me about how you came to her for advice on guys." He said getting more and more angry with every word that came out of his mouth.

"So? I am almost 15 I can like guys if I want." She said back defensively.

"Oh so the young girl thinks she can get into romance? Suki also told me about how you assured her it wasn't Aang." He said. "So that means you can't like anyone else here on the team, so who is he? An outsider?"

"I am not dumb Sokka, of course I don't like an outsider." She said.

"Then who?!" he yelled, "there is only Aang for you to like here!"

Katara looked at him weirdly. Why was he avoiding Zuko? He was well aware of Zuko's presence in the team because Sokka hated Zuko but still, to pretend like he wasn't even an option.

"I won't tell you anything." She said as her arms crossed and her legs did too.

"Katara you are making the wrong choice here, this man will only hurt you." Sokka said.

"I don't care, at least I have him." Katara said back.

"Katara you are just going to be miserable." Sokka yelled.

"Really? Because I have never felt more happy in my life!" Katara screamed  
"Nothing you can say will change my decision."

"Who is he!" Sokka yelled, the fact that she wouldn't tell him who she was with made him more angry.

"That is none of your business Sokka." Katara said as she started to get up and walk out, suddenly Sokka grabbed her arm,

"It is my business Katara, I am your older brother and I want to look out for you. I get that you are 14 years old and you think you have found love. But trust me, you haven't even come close."  
Sokka said giving her a serious stare, "You should've just stuck with Aang, you would be better off without him." He said.

Katara ripped away from his hand.  
"You are my older brother Sokka, not my father." She said. "You don't have any control over me."

"Katara, please just tell me who you are with." Sokka said.

"No one you care for." Katara said as she was about to walk out of the tent.

Sokka's eyes widened as he remembered what he had saw before he snatched Katara away from Zuko, they were sitting so close… and they were smiling at each other while staring. Could it be possible that his younger sister had fallen in love with her former enemy?

"It is Zuko, isn't it." Sokka said with a serious voice.

Katara stayed quiet, "Sokka stop." She whispered.

"Its him, isn't it!" Sokka yelled.

Katara felt nervous, her brother was already suspecting her and Zuko being a thing. She couldn't deny it, because she was with him. But she wasn't ready to tell people. She knew she couldn't stay quiet for long, that will only make his suspicion grow.

"I am done with you." She said as she walked out of the tent, she was right. She would never gain her brothers approval on her being with Zuko. He didn't even know that she was with Zuko but he still seemed very angry at her, and when she suspected that it was Zuko he only got more angry. He would never accept this.

On the other side of the camp Zuko was listening to the two siblings fighting. He was hearing everything they yelled at each other. He watched as Katara left his tent and returned to hers, her walk was slow and her head was down. She held onto her other arm and her face looked sad. He could tell why she was sad, after listening to her and Sokka fight he knew that what Katara feared had started to begin. Sokka would not approve of them being together, he seemed furious at the thought of her even dating someone.

He decided that he wanted to go comfort her, slowly and quietly he snuck past the others tents and made way to hers. He walked in and bumped into Katara, she was already at the exit of the tent.

"Sorry" he said.  
"Were you going somewhere?" he asked.

"Yea…" Katara said with her face still looking a bit down.

"Oh. I'll take my leave then." Zuko said but Katara placed her hand on his arm.

"No" she said, "I was actually about to head to your tent."  
"Can we go to the woods tonight instead?" She asked as she looked at him, he smiled at her and nodded. He held her hand as they walked towards the area they always met at.

"Is there anything you need Katara?" Zuko asked. He didn't want to question her about the fight he had with Sokka, besides she probably already knew that he knew. Suddenly she hugged him, tightly.

"I just want you to be here with me."


	9. Lustful Night - Chapter 9

Lemon warning!

 **First Sensations**

Zuko and Katara sat in the woods, she was next to him with her arms wrapped around him. They were in that position for a while.

"Zuko?" Katara said while leaning her head on his chest.

"hm?" He said.

"D-do you think my brother will ever accept us?"  
"You did hear the argument right?" She asked

"Yes to both." He said back. While stroking her hair with his fingers.

"Really?" Katara said, "You don't think he would be mad at me?"

"Well, maybe he would be mad at you for a bit, but he is your older brother and he cares about you. He can't stay mad at you forever." He said. He felt her lips form into a smile against shirt,

"I guess you're right" She said.

"What if the others get mad?"  
"Like Suki… and Aang?" She said.

"Suki seems fine with it, besides I am pretty sure she knows already." Zuko said while he continued to stroke her hair softly.

"How are you so sure?" She asked, "What makes you think?"

"Well if Sokka suspects it, you and didn't give him an actual no… he has probably already told Suki about it." He responded.

"Stop worrying so much Katara, everything will be fine" He said while giving her a light peck on her forehead.

"It's not that I am afraid, because I don't care what my brother says about me being with you. It won't change anything, I guess I am just worried he won't ever treat me the same." Katara said while letting out a sign and closed her eyes. The comfort of Zuko's arms around her felt good, she wouldn't mind if they stayed like this the whole night.

Zuko didn't respond, but in truth she didn't want a response. She just wanted to be with him, to feel his warmth, to be next to him.

"I love you" Katara said while looking up at Zuko.  
"Thank you for being here with me" she said.

Zuko looked down at her and his eyes met hers, he smiled "I love you too" he said back while lifting up her face and kissing her. She moved herself to sit up on his lap and continued to kiss him,

He had his hands around her waist, pushing her closer to him, his hair casted a shadow over her face. They pulled apart from the kiss and Zuko took off his shirt, Katara stared at his well shaped chest, all of his muscles were visible to the eye. She trailed her fingers over his back and chest as they reunited their lips again. Zuko's hand moved from her hips to her shirt, he lightly tugged on it, she realized what he wanted and without hesitation, she started to slowly take off her shirt.

She tossed her shirt aside and looked at him, something about them looking at each other, they have done it plenty of times but this night was different, it wasn't like any other time. It was filled with more love, more lust. Her lips met his again, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, pinning her against a tree. His hands wandered to her back, where her bindings were. He touched it while breaking the kiss and looking at her eyes, asking for permission. Her head nodded and he tore it off in one second.

His hand grabbed her left breast and she gasped, he started to slowly stroke it. While his lips trailed down her neck, kissing her all over. His lips went more and more down her neck, they had reached her chest at this point. His mouth started sucking on her right breast, she let out a small moan and then held the rest back out of embarrassment. His tongue started circling her nipple and sucking more. She whispered his name lightly and he looked up at her, she pulled him into a kiss, his hands reaching down to her pants, he started to slowly take them off and she let him.

She was almost fully naked, the only thing stopping it was her underwear. He took off his pants soon after, she could see his growing erection. He began to touch her again, but Katara had other things in mind. She lightly rubbed herself against his manhood, he immediately froze and let out a grunt, she smiled to herself and looked at Zuko.

"You wanna play that game?" He said while smirking. He pulled her underwear off, her eyes widened as one of his fingers caressed her womanhood folds. She gasped as he inserted a finger in slowly, he pulled out and inserted it again but faster. She moaned more and more. The sounds she was making made him hard, he took out his fingers a took the last piece of clothing off of him. They were both fully naked, exposed to each other. His hard 8inch was over her, he was so big. _"How was it going to fit?"_ she thought. She placed her hands over his manhood and started to slowly stroke it. Her hands went faster and faster, until she placed her mouth on his 8inch. She licked the tip and slowly started to suck on it. She went more and more until her mouth was fully over his manhood. He bucked his hips into her slightly, signaling her to go faster and she did.  
He let out a grunt and said her name. They were both getting more and more horny for each other. He resisted the urge to just take her right there and pound her like a wild beast.

She pulled her mouth off and looked at him.

"Zuko… take me." She said while panting.

He looked at her, she was so gorgeous. Her body was exposed to him, and only for his eyes to see. No one else. She was so curvy and her breasts were fully round and matured.

"Katara are you sure you want this?" He asked. He didn't want to do anything that she would regret.

"I _want_ this. I _want_ you and only you" She said. That was all he needed, he positioned himself at her entrance. His tip sliding against her wet folds. She moaned his name,

"This is going to hurt a bit" He said.

Katara nodded, he slowly started to slide himself into her, he broke through her barrier quickly, she let out a cry of pain as tears started to form in her eyes. He kissed her to silence the cries, he waited for approval for him to start moving.

"I'm okay now" she said.

He slowly started to move in and out of her, receiving many moans from Katara, she gripped onto his back, scratching it every time he entered her.

"Zuko, faster" she moaned. He started to go faster and put more force while entering her. He grunted, her walls were so tight around him. She was so wet, she felt amazing.

She moaned louder.  
"Go harder" she whispered into his ear.

He listened and followed, she started to move in and out more faster, pounding into her louder every time he went inside of her. She was marking his back and moaning into his ear. Waves of pleasure were sweeping across her.

"More Zuko" She moaned, Zuko gladfully did what he was told, he started pounding and slamming into her harder, faster and with more force, like there was no tomorrow.

"oh zuko" she moaned loudly. She put a hand over her mouth to stop her noises she made.  
He grabbed both of her hands and held them over her head, with nothing to stop her noises she continued to moan loudly.

She felt herself about to climax, she started to moan Zuko's name louder and louder, she could feel something amazing coming.

Zuko could tell she was close, and with that he stared to thrusting into her faster than ever, slamming into her hard. She orgasmed, yelling his name. Soon followed by Zuko, he moaned her name as he came. They plopped down next to each other, breathing hard and heavily. She wrapped her arms around him, and they fell asleep quickly.w


	10. Finding Out - Chapter 10

I am dreading to finish this story, I feel like I rushed into the love too fast. Literally cant wait till I finish this story to make a new/longer one.

 **Finding Out**

Zuko woke up to Katara's arms wrapped around him, she was snuggled up in his chest. He looked down to see that they were still bare-naked. Maybe it was best if he changed. He scanned the area, looking for the pile of clothes they had made. He put on his clothes and turned around to see that Katara was waking up.

"Morning" He said while giving her a smile. She smiled back to him,

"Good morning" She smiled and sat up, only to realize that she was topless. She gasped and quickly covered herself with her arms. She saw his face grow red and he looked away fast.

He laughed a bit, how funny that she didn't even realize she was naked.

She shot a look at him, was he laughing at her? She felt a bit insecure.  
"What are you laughing at?" She said a bit angrily. "You have already seen me na-" she began but he interrupted her.

"Seen you what?" He said while smirking.

"Just… just forget about it" She said while looking away.

"Katara I didn't mean it lik-" He said but then was interrupted by her, "shut up" she said.  
he looked at her confused, could she really have gotten that mad over it? "I didn't think it was a big deal" He said before she jumped on him and put her hand over his mouth, "shut up!" she whispered. "Look around" she said while letting go of him.

"It's daytime, the sun has risen. We aren't in the camp. The others… they will be looking for us. They could find us out here." She said looking worried. It was bad enough that she was out there so late into the day, but it was even that her and Zuko were gone. It was no secret that Sokka probably had the entire team looking for her. He probably already knew of her and Zuko now. Before he had only questioned it, but now, for both of them to be gone? She was certain he was going to ask her several questions on this when she returned.

"Sokka and the others, they are going to question this." She said with a nervous tone.

"shit" He said, he looked at Katara's face and could tell that she was panicking.  
"If you want I can stay here while you return" He said.

"No… it doesn't matter, they probably already know" She said quietly. She sighed, looked at him and smiled, "lets go" she said.

As they both walked back to camp they were holding hands, with memories of last night on both of their minds. As they reached camp they quickly let go of their hands. Just as predicted Sokka was the first one to come up to Katara, checking her for marks or scars.

"Are you ok?" Sokka asked.

"I'm fine" Katara said back. She could see Sokka start to give Zuko an angry look. She could tell, no, she could sense that he was about to ask her questions.

"Where in hells were you two?" Sokka said a bit angry that his sister had just vanished like that, especially with Zuko.

"Hunting." Zuko said as seriously as possible. Sokka gave him a suspicious look,

"In the morning?" Sokka said giving them a weird look.

Zuko nodded his head, and was about to walk off until Sokka stopped him.

"And what about last night?" Sokka said

Katara shot a look at him "W-what do you mean?" she said with panic flowing through her entire body.

"Both of you were gone last night. I don't assume you guys were hunting both last night and this morning." Each time Sokka looked at how nervous Katara was he grew more and more certain that she was dating Zuko.

"I went for a walk. And we happened to cross paths" Katara said while stuttering.

"You said the same thing when Aang caught you!" Sokka yelled.  
"You can't keep hiding things damnit!" Sokka yelled even louder at Katara.

"Don't yell at her" Zuko said sternly while looking at Sokka with a serious face.

Katara looked at Zuko a blushed, he was so protective of her, it made her feel loved.

"Why would you care?" Sokka said back while moving closer to Zuko, Sokka looked so angry, he looked as if he was ready to punch Zuko. But that wouldn't end good, she knew Sokka could never take on Zuko, even if Zuko didn't have bending abilities he would still be able to defeat Sokka easily.

"Sokka stop." Katara said while grabbing onto his shoulder and pulling back. "You are overreacting" she said.

"Overreacting?!" He said, "Overreacting!" He said once again but louder.  
"What do you expect when you constantly disappear with Zuko!" He said.

Katara looked at him, she knew there was no getting out of this, she knew she couldn't keep it a secret from Sokka because eventually he would find out. Although she wasn't expecting him to find out so early, there was no hiding it. She had to tell him.

"Sokka, this is between you and me. Can we just talk?" She asked. "Please." She said.

Sokka looked at her, he turned around and walked to his tent. She knew he wanted her to follow. She looked at Zuko, "It'll be fine" she whispered and smiled before walking towards Sokka's tent.

As she entered Sokka was already yelling.

"Are you crazy!" He yelled, "Sneaking off with Zuko!? You know that he was our enemy back then! He could've easily hurt you!" He said.

Katara looked at him, she had so many things she could say back to him.

"He isn't like that." She said back.

"How do you know? Because you two like him?" He said harshly. Even though he wasn't a bender he looked as if he was about to explode the entire campsite. He was so furious that Katara had fell for an enemy. He was almost sure that Zuko would betray them in an instinct.

"It's not like that." She said while looking away from Sokka.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't like him!" Sokka yelled.

Katara slowly moved her eyes towards Sokka, his eyes filled with anger. He was awaiting her response, either response would make him mad. If she said no, he would get mad and accuse her of lying. If she said yes he would get mad for liking Zuko. There really was no way out of this, he had all the evidence he needed, she had used the same excuse with him and Aang about being with Zuko at night, and this time they were gone in the morning together. And how uneasy she got from Sokka's questions about where her and Zuko were.

She knew what she had to do. She looked him straight in the eye, "I don't like Zuko" she said.

"Liar!" Sokka spat out.

"I _love_ him" she said back without stuttering, without hesitating. She could see the anger building up in Sokka. She had given him probably the worst answer he had wanted.

"He doesn't love you back" Sokka said coldly.  
"You might as well end whatever you guys have, because it is fake." He said.

Katara laughed a bit, "Sokka, trying to convince me that he doesn't have any feelings for me isn't going to make me end things" She said.

"He is probably just using you." Sokka said.

"Stop." Katara said loudly.

"Why does it bother you so much? Why are you so uneasy about me being happy for once?" Katara said. "Don't you want me to be happy?" She asked.

Sokka sighed, "Katara, I'm your big brother, and I want what's the best for you. I want to keep you from harm" He said.

"Sokka I can protect myself, besides you cant protect me from feeling emotions" She said.

"I know… I just don't want Zuko to hurt you." He said, he really didn't want Katara to be hurt.

"Sokka you cant keep trying to protect me like this. If I end up getting emotionally hurt, then that's that." She said. "It's apart of life, you can't stop it. Like how your first girlfriend turned into the moon, you felt sad but you accepted it"

"Have you told Aang?" Sokka said, he realized how she froze up at that question, how her eyes went wide and she turned around and started at the floor, at anything as if she was looking for answer.

"I'm guessing that's a no" Sokka said.  
"Will you tell him?" he said.

"Yes." She said, she was planning on telling him. But she just didn't know when she would.

"When?" he asked. Damn. Was he reading her mind? He was asking every question she didn't want him to ask.

"I don't know" She said quietly.

"Tomorrow?" Sokka said.

"Tomorrow!?" She screeched.

"Tomorrow." He said again. He really had no place telling her when she should tell Aang about her and Zuko, but to be fair Aang thinks that him and Katara are something, and that's not right.

"either you tell him tomorrow, or I will." He said.

"what! Sokka no!" She yelled, she should've just left as soon as things had calmed down. Now hes insisting that she tell Aang tomorrow of her and Zuko.

"You cannot keep leading him on like this Katara. He thinks you and him have a thing, its wrong for him to believe that when you are dating Zuko. It's rude and disrespectful. The longer you keep it a secret the more he will be hurt." Sokka said.

Katara looked down, she never thought it as that way, but Sokka did have a point, the longer she waited to tell him the more Aang would be hurt. She had avoided telling Aang because she didn't want to break his heart, but by doing so she was only going to hurt him more.

"Tomorrow." Katara said while walking out of his tent. She rushed over to Zuko's tent, she walked in and sat next to where he was sitting.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"I have to tell Aang tomorrow" Katara said looking worried.

"Are you sure?" He said while putting an arm around Katara and pulled her closer to him.

"Yes… I know its for the best but I'm just a bit nervous" she said as she leaned on him.

"Can I sleep here with you tonight?" she asked.

"Aren't you afraid someone will find us?" he asked. "We aren't in the woods you know, we are in my tent. At camp where everyone is." He added.

"I don't care" She said while looking at him. He smiled at her and nodded.


	11. The Truth - Chapter 11

**The Truth**

Katara woke up in Zuko's arms, next to him in bed. She slowly and quietly got up from the bed, being careful to not wake him up. She made her way outside the tent and went to the baskets where the team stored the food. She grabbed something and returned to Zuko's tent, she walked in and saw that he was already awake.

"Good morning" She said while flashing him a smile. He smiled at her and greeted her back.

"What's that?" He asked while putting on his shirt

"Oh, I went to grab food" She said while setting it down next on the small table next to his bed.

"Thank you" he said while getting up from his bed,  
"Have you planned on what you're going to say to Aang?" Zuko asked while beginning to eat some of the food Katara had got him.

"No… not really. I was just planning on letting the words come out when I tell him" she said, the entire night she had tried to plan what she was going to say to him. She didn't know how to start the conversation off, she couldn't just walk in and just tell him that she didn't like him back, or tell him that she had never felt anything for him. That was a lie actually, she did indeed love him, but just not in the way Aang loved her. She liked him in a brotherly way, and that's how she would always feel about him.

"Don't worry so much, you'll be fine" he said while placing a kiss on her lips. She smiled at him and hugged him, thanking him for his support.

Suddenly Aang walked in to the tent, "Hey Zuko have you see Kata-" he said before stopping and gasping. He looked shocked, but that turned to anger as he stormed out.

Zuko and Katara looked at each other with worried looks, "I guess I have to tell him now" Katara said to Zuko. He nodded at her and she headed towards Aang.

"Aang wait" Katara said while catching up to him. She put her hand over his shoulder, "Let me explain" she said before she shoved her away. "Go away!" he said angrily, while running off again with the speed of wind.

Katara ran after him yelling his name. She passes numerous trees but didn't see any sign of him. Until she saw bunches of leaves on the ground, knowing that it must've been wind that knocked so much leaves down she heading off toward the trail. She eventually found him.

"Aang, just hear me out" she said while panting from all the running she had just did.

"There's nothing to hear Katara" he spat out, he gave her an angry look.  
"You lied to me about having feelings for me." He said with anger while looking away from her.

"What?" she said confused, she could understand why he was mad but to say that she lied to him about having feelings was a lie.

"You heard him, you are a liar. You led me on, made me think that we had something." He said while his anger started to change to sadness. He looked at Katara with sadness before turning away.

"Aang… we were never a thing." She said while trying to not cry. It pained her to put him through so much pain but the truth had to be told.

"How could you say that!" he yelled. "What about the fun times we had together? And I even kissed you." He said louder.

"I only saw you as a friend" she said back, not being able to make eye contact with him, it would hurt too much.

"But I love you Katara" he said, Katara had a tear streaming down her face now. She felt a knot in her stomach, like the world was falling apart. It wasn't long ago that everything was fine.

"I do too Aang." She said while smiling at him. "But… just not in the way you love me" she said.

"You could have told me. Instead of leading me on to think we were more than just friends when really… the entire time you were with Zuko" He said painfully, "How could you?" he asked.

"Listen Aang, I never kissed you back. I never thought of us like that, I am sorry that you believed we were a thing when we never were. I am sorry I didn't tell you earlier." She said.

"You're with Zuko… aren't you?" he asked. Katara looked away, looked at the ground and sighed. Telling Sokka about her and Zuko was no easy trip, but this would be harder. She knew it had to be done but still, at the moment it happened the words couldn't escape her lips. She just couldn't manage to tell him, she searched for the right sentence, the right way, the right words, but nothing came to mind. Nothing she thought of could be said, she was lost.

"well?" Aang said impatiently. He looked at her but she didn't look back. The entire time they were talking she had not made eye contact, only once had she looked at him.

"Yes…" she said. "I know, I should've said something sooner but I couldn't figure out how"

"So all the times you went out to the woods, or when you came back with Zuko in the morning… and told me you were taking walks" He began, already knowing the answer.

"I was with Zuko." She said, "I'm sorry I lied about that."

"How long have you loved him" he asked with anger starting to return to him. Katara didn't know how to respond to him, how long did she love Zuko? Had she loved him before?

"I…I don't know" she said truthfully.

"But you love him now" he said.

"Yes" she said quietly.

"I love him" she said again as a whisper.

"I love Zuko." She repeated.

Aang stood up, "Ok" he said as he started to walk away to the camp.

"No hard feelings? She said, he stopped walking and turned around to face her. He didn't respond to her, he turned around and kept walking.

She sighed and returned to the camp. Zuko greeted her as soon as she returned and she hugged him. She could see Aang staring at them angrily in the corner of her eye. Zuko could see Aang also, he smirked a bit and kissed Katara. Wanting to show Aang that she was _all_ his now. Katara whispered quietly "lets continue this in your tent. He is watching"

As they both went back to Zuko's tent they sat down next to each other.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"it was okay" she said, giving a deep sigh.

"What happened?" he asked while putting a arm over her shoulder.

She leaned in closer to him, "He got mad I guess."

"Did he do anything to you?" he asked while cupping her head in his hands.

"No I'm fine Zuko, he just got mad, but then sad." She said.

"Did he take it well?" he asked.

"No, when our conversation was over he got up and left. I asked him 'no hard feelings?' but he didn't say anything. He stopped walking and looked at me, but he just turned around and kept walking." She responded.

"I'm sure he will get over it" He said.

"Yea" she said while leaning into him more. He wrapped his arms around her, she smiled against him.

"I love you Zuko" she said.

"I love you too" he said.

 _The end_ , sorry the story ended like this, sorry it was a horrible plot, I can remake the story later. I am planning on another story, an overused plot of Zuko kidnapping Katara and using her as bait but then falls in love. The first chapter of my next story will be out probably next week.


End file.
